I’m going to start by predicting the Saints to win this game. And here’s why.

Both teams have dominating offences and arguably two of the top three quarterbacks in the league. They also have very similar rosters on the offensive side of the ball. One of the keys will come down to the rushing attacks. There shouldn’t be a whole lot of a problem throwing the ball so it will be up to the running backs to give their offence the edge.

For me, I like the Saints rushing attack. This is mostly because of what Reggie Bush has looked like this post-season. He hasn’t gotten the ball a lot but when he has gotten it he’s gone all out. Even to go as far as to lower his shoulder and level guys. He’s a big-play threat that can make a difference in this game.

There is also the defence that will factor into this game. I give the Saints the edge in this category as well because of their ability to force turnovers. Both teams don’t turn it over much so an interception or fumble would be big. And don’t forget, Darren Sharper is one of the best at returning fumbles and interceptions for touchdowns.

Another thing with this game is the over/under total. As of now, the total is 56.5 which his pretty high for a football game. In my opinion, it’s too high.

I’m planning on betting on this game and I’ll be picking the under. Yes, both of these teams can score but it takes time to get downfield. Add on Peyton Manning’s multiple signal calls at the line, and you have a lot of time being run of the clock. A number of times I’ve seen two high scoring teams put together a low scoring game.

My Prediction for this game: 20-17 Saints

Hope everyone has a great Sunday and remember to be safe, don’t drink and drive!

The Jets get another shot to upset a favoured team at home. But I can’t really give them full credit for the win. Nate Kaeding cost his team 9 points, 9 points that would have given the Chargers the win. I’m one of those guys who still doubt the Jets’ ability. The Colts were beating the Jets in their last meeting until Jim Caldwell decided to rest his starters. Add that on to the fact that the Colts took easy care of the Baltimore Ravens. Indy’s defence allowed only 3 points in last week’s victory and it will be even more crucial for them to keep New York out of the endzone. However, the Jets offence is arguably better than the Ravens so the Colts will have a tougher task.
My Pick: Colts

Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans Saints

Both teams come into this game hot on offence. Both teams scored over 30 points and both have had a bye week to recover. This game will most likely come down to the play of the quarterbacks. Brett Favre, who is arguably having one of his best years, is hot right now while Drew Brees looked amazing last weekend. But the one guy I’ll have my eye on is Reggie Bush. He looked like the back the Saints thought they’d be getting when they drafted him second overall. He was electric every time he touched the ball and was even being physical, laying a few shoulders into defenders after runs. I think we all caught a glimpse of how good Bush could be. But anyways…
My Pick: Saints

And if everything goes right, we’ll have the two teams who were almost perfect in the regular season. Colts vs. Saints would be an epic matchup.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Indianapolis Colts

Or the battle of Baltimore. The Ravens are coming off of a big win over the favoured New England Patriots. But now they have a bigger challenge. The Colts won’t be an easy team to beat. However, there are similarities between the Colts offensive and the Patriots offence. Both have great Quarterbacks, average rushing attacks and skill throughout the Wide Receiver position. In their last game, Baltimore got off to a quick start and that will probably be key in this game. If they can get an early lead, their defence could keep them in charge.
My Pick: Ravens (UPSET!) because they took care of the Patriots rather easily

New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers

Maybe the Jets should be favoured in every game like Rex Ryan said. Sorry Rex, the Chargers are favoured by a touchdown for Sunday’s game. The one battle to look at in this game would be the Chargers passing attack against the Jets pass defence. Both are very solid and have star players at key positions. This week, Revis Island welcomes Vincent Jackson. Jackson has the height advantage but so did Randy Moss in two games the Patriots faced off against the Jets and Moss didn’t do so well. This game might come down to the Jets rushing attack against the Chargers rush defence. The stats tell us that New York has the edge but we’ll have to see. It wasn’t Thomas Jones, their feature back, who was their leading rusher last weekend. San Diego has to learn from what Cincinnati failed to do. The key for the Jets last week was their play action and misdirection. The Chargers must control what the Jets do passing the ball. Though Mark Sanchez did have a good game last week, he is still a rookie that threw 20 interceptions this year. Force Sanchez into mistakes.
My Pick: Chargers

Dallas Cowboys vs. Minnesota Vikings

Now that the Cowboys have won in the playoffs, everyone seems to be jumping on their bandwagon to the Super Bowl. So why haven’t I yet? Because the Vikings are in their way. Now I know Brett Favre hasn’t been great in his last couple of playoff appearances. I understand Adrian Peterson is in slump. But the thing is, Minnesota had the luxury of a bye week. Favre has a week off to rest his arm, Peterson has an extra week to work on his running and the team gets a week to heal up. The Vikings are going to come into this game ready to go. Their run defence has always been solid and will have a difficult task stopping the three-headed running backs of Dallas. However, it might be the passing attack for the Cowboys that is the biggest factor as Tony Romo has been hot as of late and so has their defence.
My Pick: Cowboys (I haven’t jumped on the bandwagon yet, just thinking about it)

Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints

This game will be crucial for the Saints. They’ve lost 3 straight even though they had their starters in most of the time. The Cardinals come into this game after putting up 51 points on the second best defence in the league. Kurt Warner lit it up and there’s no doubt that they can do it again. This could be another high scoring game with two of the top offences going at it. But New Orleans is at home for this game, which is a significant advantage since it gets very loud in the Louisiana Superdome. They also got the week off to rest and prepare.
My Pick: Saints

Now I know that the Bengals got destroyed last week. They’ve now lost 3 out of 4 and have some injuries to deal with. The Bengals might not have Chad Ochocinco or Domata Peko for Saturday’s game and they placed Rey Maualuga on IR. The key is to get both Ochocinco and Peko back and starting. Peko is a big guy that can shut down the run, which is something that Cincinnati had trouble with last week. Ochocinco is the main guy in the receiving core and if he is not playing, the Bengals will have to rely on the run. However, both of these guys practiced on Wednesday and should be ready to go. On the flip side, the Jets might not have the services of David Harris, their solid and underrated middle linebacker, for the game.
My Pick: Bengals. I just can’t see the Jets beating them twice but we’ll see.

Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots

The Ravens managed to secure a playoff spot after beating the Raiders Week 17. The key for them now is to prove that they deserve to be playing in the playoffs. These two teams faced off in New England Week 4, a game that the Patriots won 27-21. The difference is that the Patriots had Wes Welker in that game. Welker, who ranked 1st in receptions during the regular season, will not play and it might hurt New England’s offence somewhat. With him being out, I can see Randy Moss being targeted a few more times, especially since the Baltimore cornerbacks are average and not all that tall.
My Pick: Patriots. I don’t know if the Ravens can have the run they had last year in the playoffs.

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Dallas Cowboys

We’re seeing something out of the Cowboys that we haven’t seen in a long time: Them winning in December. And technically, they did win in January. Tony Romo has been leading his team to the playoffs and is looking almost MVP like. If he can continue with his success and their defence can keep on shutting the door, the Cowboys might be the team to beat in the playoffs. Then again, we haven’t seen them in the playoffs yet and the Eagles are a tough team to beat twice. However, Philadelphia has to make up for the disappointing loss last week. The Eagles could have been sitting back at home watching the Wildcard round on TV if they were to win last week.
My Pick: Cowboys. I know they sucked recently in the playoffs but I can see them beating up the Eagles once again. The new stadium is going to be rocking Saturday Night.

Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Packers have been one of the hottest teams heading into the playoffs. They are 4-1 in their last 5 games and had a huge win against the Cardinals last week. They have also outscored their last 2 opponents 81-17. Now they head back to Arizona with some swagger. The Cardinals come into this game knowing what it takes to make the Super Bowl. Both have great quarterbacks, pretty good run games but Green Bay does have a better defence.
My Pick: Packers. Too good of a defence for me to pick Arizona, but it will be a tight game.

Indianapolis Colts (14-1) at Buffalo Bills (5-10)

The key point for this game is whether or not the Colts will rest their starters again. Most likely it will happen. It would be a slap in the face of all the Colts fans if the team were to keep their starters in all game. I highly doubt we’ll see Peyton Manning or any other starter in the game for more than a half. Last week, we saw how bad the Indianapolis backups could be as they allowed 19 points while scoring 0. Add that onto the fact that it will be in snowy Buffalo, and you got a recipe for disaster.
My Pick: Buffalo

New York Giants (8-7) at Minnesota Vikings (11-4)

Basically this game is a slumping playoff team against a team that just barely missed the playoffs. So who is going to be hungrier in this game? For the Giants, it’s a chance to make up for the 41-9 loss they had at home against the Panthers. A win would also give them their 3rd straight winning season. For the Vikings, it means a couple of things. First off, a win and an Eagles loss would give Minnesota a first-round bye. Even if they don’t get a first-round bye, a win would definitely pick up the spirits of the players. Heading into the playoffs with a 3 game losing streak would be disappointing. I really think that Minnesota needs this game more than the Giants do.
My Pick: Vikings

Green Bay Packers (10-5) at Arizona Cardinals (10-5)

This game would probably be a little more interesting if it wasn’t Week 17. Both of these teams have clinched a playoff birth. The Packers and Cardinals might actually face each other in the Wildcard round if the Packers win this game. If the Cardinals were to win, they would need the Vikings and Eagles to lose to clinch a first-round bye. If both of those teams were to win, Arizona would stay at the 4th seed. The Packers can either be seeded 5th or 6th as the Vikings already locked up the NFC North. Because of the situation with the back to back games, these two teams might rest their starters.
My Pick: Cardinals

New Orleans Saints (13-2) at Carolina Panthers (7-8)

In two weeks New Orleans has gone from a possible 16-0 team to a giant question mark. It’s very disappointing to see the Saints struggling at this point in the season. Now they have to go into Carolina to face a team that has been red hot offensively. A big surprise has been the play of Matt Moore. In his last 4 games, he has thrown for 7 touchdowns and only 1 interception. Also last week, Jonathan Stewart ran for over 200 yards. We’ll see how the Saints do but in my opinion, what’s the point of keeping the starters in for the whole game?
My Pick: Panthers

Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) at Dallas Cowboys (10-5)

There’s no doubt that both teams are coming into this game ready to go. For them, the playoffs start this Sunday. Neither of these teams wants to lose to their divisional rival. What’s at stake in this game? Well the Eagles clinch not only the NFC East division but a first-round bye with a win. If the Cowboys win, they clinch the division and can clinch a first-round bye if the Vikings and Cardinals loss. And just to add a little bit of fuel to the fire: Eagles Intro Video (Thanks to dawkinseffect for posting the video on the EA Forum)
My Pick: Eagles

My Other Picks

Jacksonville Jaguars over Cleveland Browns
Chicago Bears over Detroit Lions
San Francisco 49ers over St. Louis Rams
Pittsburgh Steelers over Miami Dolphins
Atlanta Falcons over Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New England Patriots over Houston Texans
San Diego Chargers over Washington Redskins
Tennessee Titans over Seattle Seahawks
Baltimore Ravens over Oakland Raiders
Denver Broncos over Kansas City Chiefs
New York Jets over Cincinnati Bengals

Chargers over Titans

I just can’t doubt the Chargers anymore. They’ve been doing so well this year I just don’t see them losing to the Titans. Tennessee lost Keith Bulluck and David Thornton for the season which will hurt them greatly. Bulluck was the leader of the defence and is arguably one of the best linebackers in the game. Plus, Tennessee is one of the worst teams against the pass and Philip Rivers has been lighting it up this year. The Titans will need to get their offence on track and running quickly because the Chargers might be able to put up a lot of points.

Colts over Jets

This will be a good test for the Colts offence: The #1 passing attack against the #1 pass defence and Darrelle Revis against Reggie Wayne. It’s going to be a tough game for the offence but I can see the Colts getting win #15. I don’t think that Mark Sanchez will have a good game. He is having a tough first year in the NFL. The Colts should be able to pick off Sanchez a few times in this game. The key to the Jets keeping this game close will be getting their rushing game going.

Steelers over Ravens

This is a tough game to pick but I think the Steelers beat one of their divisional rivals. If Pittsburgh does win, then their will be a dog fight for the two wildcard spots. A Baltimore loss means that they slip down to 8-7, and opens the door for the 6 teams that are on the outside looking in. If the Ravens win, they will need Jacksonville and New York Jets or Denver to lose, or Miami, New York Jets and Denver to lose. It’s going to be an interesting playoff race in the last two weeks.

Eagles over Broncos

I don’t think this was a hard one to pick. Both teams are over .500 but the Eagles have the edge in this one. The Eagles are one of the best teams when it comes to December while the Broncos have been struggling as of late. They also have an advantage as it is a home game. If you’re a Broncos fan and are going to attend the game, rethink your decision. Those Phili fans are vicious:

Eagles Fan Throw Snowballs At 49er Fans

Texans over Dolphins

In this game I think it is a matter of which team is better. In my opinion, that team is Houston. I can see the Houston passing attack dominating the Dolphins young pass defence. Andre Johnson has been red hot in the last two weeks. Both teams need this win to keep their playoff hopes alive. But both teams have tough matches Week 17. Miami has Pittsburgh and Houston has New England. A win for either team is necessary but probably won’t be good enough to get them into the playoffs at this point.

Other Picks:

Falcons over Bills
Bengals over Chiefs
Raiders over Browns
Packers over Seahawks
Patriots over Jaguars
Saints over Buccaneers
Giants over Panthers
49ers over Lions
Cardinals over Rams
Cowboys over Redskins
Vikings over Bears

I’m not doing this on purpose Eddy. I think the Bengals are going into San Diego pissed and ready to go. They first lose in Minnesota and now today they lost one of their teammates. The last time the Bengals had a part of their family pass away, they won against the Ravens 17-14. They need this win to prove to everyone that they are a playoff team. On the flip side, a loss might hurt the swagger of Cincinnati. Losing two straight and one of their teammate will most likely have a negative affect on the team morale. Or maybe this is because I’m a Bengals fan. Either way, I pick the Bengals to win.

Indianapolis over Jacksonville

The Jaguars are at home but I have a feeling it won’t make a difference. The Colts are the better team in this matchup by far. However, Jacksonville did make it a tight game in their first meeting with the Colts. Expect this one to be close but the Colts will most likely win.

New Orleans over Dallas

Dallas can’t buy a break in December. Now they have to go into the Louisiana Superdome and try to win against an unbeaten team. I’m not picking the Saints because Dallas has a poor record in December. I’m picking the Saints because they are the better team. New Orleans has beaten better teams. If the Saints continue with their successful passing game, they’ll be at an advantage.

Tennessee over Miami

The Titans were dynamite against one of the league’s worst teams last week. The problem is Vince Young pulled a hamstring after a long run. Hopefully the Titans have him on the field next week so that they can have their two-headed rushing attack back. I think the Titans can tear through the Dolphins defence with that rushing attack and win this game. Miami will keep it close. Of course, both teams are (barely) in the hunt for the playoffs. We’ll see how this game turns out.

Pittsburgh over Green Bay

Now I know that the Steelers are almost out of the playoffs but I think that they win this game. Pittsburgh is at home and I think that they can come together and end their losing streak. Amazingly, the Steelers are actually favoured in this game. I’ll go with the consensus and say that the Steelers win this game by seven.

Other picks:

New England over Buffalo
Arizona over Detroit
Kansas City over Cleveland
Houston over St.Louis
New York Jets over Atlanta
Philadelphia over San Francisco
Baltimore over Chicago
Denver over Oakland
Seattle over Tampa Bay
Minnesota over Carolina
New York Giants over Washington

Hopefully I do better than 8-8 this week

Tampa Bay over New York Jets

Now I know that the Buccaneers are only 1-11 but I have a feeling Tampa Bay can pull off an upset. I’m not going crazy I just can see a good game with the Bucs coming up on top against the Jets. New York will be starting Kellen Clemens, an unproven quarterback. The main battle will be the Jets offence against the Bucs defence and more importantly, New York’s 1st ranked rushing offence versus the Buccaneers 31st ranked rush defence. If the Buccaneers can shut down or at least slow down the massive Jets run game, they’ll be at an advantage. They’ll also need Josh Freeman to play well and lead this team but facing the #1 pass defence will be hard. This could be a one point game.

Denver over Indianapolis

Another gut feeling, but I believe a little more reasonable than picking Tampa Bay over the Jets. Denver has been surging again and their offence is lighting it up. The Colts defence has been pretty good but I think this week they’ll have some trouble. Can anyone in that Colts secondary stop Brandon Marshall? Of course not and the Broncos should recognize that. I also think the Broncos run game can get going against an average run defence. Another key factor is that Denver has the 2nd best pass defence. I can see the Broncos taking an early lead and holding the lead for the rest of the game.

Minnesota over Cincinnati

This is the first time I’m picking against my Bengals but I just don’t think that they can win. Vikings are at home, got a great run defence and are probably more of a complete team. All of these factors are why I believe that the Bengals are going 9-4. I do however think that Cincinnati pass attack will have a great day. I just don’t see it going well against that dominate Vikings run defence and the Bengals have seemed to rely more on the run. Expect a good game with the Vikings winning by a TD.

Dallas over San Diego

I can already see xXTheEddYXx shaking his head in disgust. I can see the Cowboys winning this game for two reasons: 1. they’re at home and 2. because all streaks end! I think the Cowboys do well in this game. Tony Romo did throw the ball 55 times but he also completed 41 of them. As long as they have further success with the pass and run the ball more often, I think they can win. The Chargers are streaking right now but it’s really hard to keep a 7 game win streak going. This should be an exciting game to watch and should be close.

New York Giants over Philadelphia

The Giants had a good game against the Cowboys last weekend and now they’re facing another divisional foe in the Eagles. The only reason I’m choosing the Giants is because they’re at home. Otherwise, this game is a tossup. Both teams need a win and both teams can win. An exciting game for Sunday Night Football on NBC

Here are the rest of my picks:

Pittsburgh over Cleveland
New Orleans over Atlanta
Green Bay over Chicago
Jacksonville over Miami
Baltimore over Detroit
Houston over Seattle
Buffalo over Kansas City
New England over Carolina
Oakland over Washington
Tennessee over St. Louis
Arizona over San Francisco